No bullies among these Eagles

None of the emotions were good ones in an unofficial poll of the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday regarding the very ugly bullying incident that occurred within the Miami Dolphins organization recently.

Dolphins guard Richie Incognito has been suspended and almost certainly will never play for them again in the wake of threats and racial slurs he made toward teammate Jonathan Martin, a second-year tackle, apparently causing Martin to snap and leave the team temporarily.

According to reports, Incognito's "hazing" of Martin began in Martin's rookie season last year and has included pressuring him into financing a trip to Las Vegas and repeatedly buying meals for the team.

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, a teammate of Martin's at Stanford, stuck up for his friend.

"He was an unbelievable teammate at Stanford," Ertz said. "He was a lot of fun to play with. We were pretty good friends both on and off the field, and it's a very unfortunate situation that he's in, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how he bounces back from it.

"Usually the offensive linemen take very good care of each other. Every situation that I've been in, whether it's here or Stanford, the O-linemen had a heck of relationship, both on and off the field. And the racial terms that were used in that scenario, and derogatory terms and the excessive dinners and the trip to Vegas ... I don't think there's any place for that."

Cornerback Cary Williams also did not endorse Incognito's alleged actions, but had a hard time wrapping his head around why the 6-foot-5, 312-pound Martin didn't resort to physical retaliation against Incognito, who was labeled as a bad seed by many before entering the league in 2005.

Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said Incognito was never an option for his team in the NFL Draft because of character issues, and during the broadcast of Sunday night's Colts-Texans game, former Kansas City Chiefs general manager and New England Patriots player-personnel vice president Scott Pioli said: "I didn't want him coming out [of college], and I don't want him now."

But up until being punished when his actions became public, Incognito had instead been rewarded by Dolphins coach Joe Philbin with a leadership position on the team's player council.

"You can only take so much as an individual," Williams said. "You're a grown man. It's hard for me to believe that another grown man is bullying you, unless you let it happen, unless you allow it to happen, you ... give that situation a chance to spread.

"It's a messed-up situation, and I don't see anything wrong with Martin coming out and having a brawl with the guy or a skirmish, just to show that you're still the man and you still have a place here. And dude oversteps the boundaries, man, there's so many outlets you have in the NFL. You have player development directors, you've got other players, you've got some coaches.

"Then, if you've expended all your outlets, then a scrum, I wouldn't mind it," Williams said. "It is what it is. It's two 300-pound grown men getting after it. You get after it every day in practice. In practice, hey, let's duke it out. That's just what it is. I don't see anything wrong with that."

In almost all levels of football, a certain amount of hazing exists for newbies. The Eagles do it too.

Rookie Earl Wolff, for instance must bring snacks in for everyone a couple of times a week.

Former Eagle Mike Patterson famously missed a team flight for a road trip as a rookie when he was caught in traffic while making a required food run for the veterans in 2005.

"I've done it [as a rookie for the Tennessee Titans]," Williams said. "I've had to buy CDs, I've had to buy some tennis shoes or whatever off my Nike account for somebody. Those things were cool. We had good leadership in place to kind of manage those situations."

Fortunately for the Eagles, nothing has ever never escalated to the point where it could damage the team.

"We don't do it [like the Dolphins] around here," left tackle Jason Peters said. "We don't allow it. We need the guys like [right tackle] Lane [Johnson] and all the [other] rookies to play. We don't need them worrying about us doing something to them or taking some of their money or stuff like that. We've got to depend on these guys to help us win."

ROSTER MOVE

The Eagles on Tuesday finally filled the opening on their roster by re-signing cornerback Curtis Marsh. Marsh was a third-round pick of the Eagles in the 2011 draft who failed to make the final cuts this season. His addition comes in the wake of a recent pectoral injury sustained by starter Bradley Fletcher, which had left the team with just three healthy corners. Fletcher may not be able to return for Sunday's game at Green Bay.